Alice Mare Walthrough: Story Version
by TheIllusionMaster
Summary: Here's a story format of an Alice Mare Walthrough. Not the best, but it's pretty decent like my Mad Father Walkthrough. Enjoy (PS: I'm sorry if you were tricked into reading this because of what Genre I put it as. I apologize.)
1. Chapter 1

_The ant told me that the frog is bad…the frog told me that the cat is bad…the cat told me, no…the rabbit is worst of all…so I…_

"…so that's roughly how life will be here for you." A tall man with black hair tied in a ponytail reaching all the way down to his lower back say to a blonde boy, smiling.

The boy remained silent as he had been through the man's talk about the rules and code of conduct.

"…if you don't understand, there is a list in your room that explains it all again…" The man said gently, the sleeves on his long black coat swinging as he brought his hands to rest on the desk the two sat in next to.

"No one will ask anything of you here. There are few things to keep to, but it should be a peaceful life here…" He said, suddenly reaching for a few books and pulling one out.

"In addition…here." He said, handing the book to the boy. "Your own personal notebook...use it however you like. For sad or happy times…just write down whatever feeling you have and give it to me, would you?"

He turned back, chuckling. "Haha, but some children like to just doodle in it…but that's fine by me, too." He glanced at the clock. "You have a little time before dinner, why don't you go and meet the other children?" He said as they both stood up.

"It may not be immediate, per se, but they're all good children. You'll get along fine…"

The boy looked up at the man. "…What do I call you?" He said quietly.

The man paused. "Ah, me? Just call me Teacher…I look forward to having you stay here, Allen…"

He pushed the boy towards the door. "When you leave this room, go straight left until you get to five rooms. That's where everyone will be."

Allen nodded, turned and opened the door, looked out and closed it behind him, trying to remember what Teacher had said.

_When you leave this room, turn left and walk straight until you find five rooms…that's where everyone will be…_

Allen gulped and walked forward into a big lobby. It had a lonesome looking telephone in the corner on top of a dresser. He decided not to touch it and move on.

On the far side of the lobby, there was a small corridor that led to another hallway. Allen went through it and peeked around the corner to see five doorways, all with signs on them.

Allen could read pretty well so he took a look at them. The door closest to him had a sign that said: Stella.

_These must be the rooms Teacher was talking about…_

He knocked and entered, seeing a girl in the middle of her room staring at Allen.

The girl had long black hair that wasn't exactly as long as Teacher's, but close, wore a hairband, and a dress with long sleeves.

He walked forward as her eyes bore into his. "Um…hello…my name is Allen…" He said quietly, hoping for an answer.

The girl remained silent until she realized that he was expecting her to speak.

"…Oh. That's…odd. Odd that you can speak anyway…probably because…you don't really…feel alive."

The girl smiled slightly. "Allen, was it? I'm Stella." The girl stopped talking again and began to stare at him like she was when he first entered.

Allen backed away and out the door. He closed it and walked a few feet to the next door. The sign on this one said: Joshua.

Allen smiled, for he was relieved because he assumed this child was a boy.

Allen knocked and walked in to find a boy pacing around his room.

The boy had light blue hair and a brown hat that covered most of his head.

"Sup'." The boy said.

Allen smiled and told him his name.

"My name's Brown." The boy said. Then he became confused.

"Or wait…was it Marcus? Might've been Nichol…" He stopped. "Allen, huh?" He smiled and shook his hand. "Or maybe it was Helen?" He asked himself.

"Oh well. Nice to meet'cha!" He said.

Allen smiled. "I thought your name was Joshua?"

The boy's eyes lit up. "That's right! Thanks pal."

Allen walked out and closed the door, preparing himself for the next meeting.

The next door he came across had a sign that read: Chelsy.

He entered and practically tripped over some teddy bears that had been placed in front of the doorway.

He stopped himself from falling and looked around the room to see teddy bears scattered this way and that.

He spotted a girl in the midst of the stuffed animals swam through the sea of teddies to get to her.

The girl wore a red skirt and red poncho that looked handmade, and her brown hair was cut short.

She jumped when she spotted him, but remained silent.

"…my name's Allen." Allen said.

"…um…m-my name's Chelsy…" She responded.

Allen was quite surprised to find that her voice was quieter than his own.

"N-nice to meet you…"

He bowed and swam back through the bears, going out the door and to the next one smoothly.

The sign on this door said: Letty & Rick.

_Two children share a room? Strange._

Allen walked in to find a girl in the room.

She had long white hair and a pretty black bow tied in it. She also wore a long-sleeved dress.

Her eyes lit up when she saw Allen walk in. "Wow! I've never seen you here before!" She exclaimed.

She thought for a minute before piping back up. "Oh! So you're the one Teacher mentioned! My name's Letty." She introduced herself.

She straightened up. "There's also Rick, but he's not here right now. He's a very nice boy!" She grinned wide.

"You're name's Allen right?"

Allen nodded.

"Great! I'd be really happy if we could play together sometime! Nice to know you!"

Allen smiled and exited, stopping at the last door.

The sign read: Allen.

_Oh! This must be my room!_ He exclaimed, opening the door and seeing how much space he had to himself. He didn't know why that made him so happy, but he shrugged it off.

He closed the door back up and decided to head back to Teacher, since Teacher had warned him to never go up to the second floor only for study time when Allen was with Teacher and the other children.

Teacher saw him walk in and turned. "Have you introduced yourself, yet?"

Allen nodded.

"How did it go?"

"…it was…interesting…but I was able to talk with them and get their names…" Allen said.

Teacher closed his eyes and opened them again. "I see. I'm glad you were able to carry a conversation with them. You're just in time for dinner, so let's round up the children and head to the dining room."

LATER:  
Teacher gathered up the last plate and said, "Now what do you say?"

"Thanks for the meal Teacher!" The children said, cheerfully.

"All right, return to your rooms and get ready for bed!" Teacher said. "You can go to each other's rooms to talk until bedtime." He smiled. "Dismissed!"

Everyone stood up and began to clear out of the big dining room hall.

"Uh, Allen? Will you stay here for a few extra minutes?"

Allen turned his head and nodded, sitting back down at the table and Teacher sitting from the place across from him.

"You haven't been here long…but you sure seem to have gotten used to everything already."

Allen smiled and nodded.

Teacher did as well. "…how are your memories doing, by the way?"

Allen stopped smiling and shook his head.

Teacher faltered and little but he remained smiling. "I see…Well, don't push yourself to remember. Just take it nice and slow, alright? I'm sure you'll remember everything in good time…"

Allen remained silent, but nodded.

"Say, do you want anything. I can buy you whatever I can afford

Allen looked up and said, "What about XXXX?" (Sorry about this. We never really know what he says, so I'm just guessing here. And the XXXX is a "Censor" in a way.)

Teacher closed his eyes. "That's not something you can buy. Sorry…but I'll keep that in mind." Teacher rested his head on his hand. "What about some new books? You like to read don't you, Allen?"

Allen brightened up again.

"I'm really impressed about how many words you can understand already! Teacher's…not so smart. I don't' really get difficult things."

Allen cocked his head to the side.

Teacher smiled. "Oh, it's nothing…" He paused for a moment before speaking up again.

"Allen? If I told you there was another World unlike our own…would you believe me?"

Allen sat forward in his seat. "Is that for real?" He asked, intrigued.

"No, it's just a fairytale..." Teacher said.

Allen looked down and sat up straight again.

"But…should you be invited to such a World, I'd advise against opening that door…"

Before Allen could say anything, Teacher stood up. "All right, Allen. You can head to your room now…I need to lock up anyway. Get to bed quickly!" He said, pushing Allen out of the dining room door.

Allen looked at him over his shoulder before heading back to the rooms. He opened the door to his room before closing it again without going inside and decided to pay a visit to Joshua.

He opened the door and saw Joshua sitting down at his desk.

Joshua heard the door open and looked behind to see Allen.

Joshua smiled and began a conversation almost immediately. "Hey, have you talked to Rick, yet? He's around right now."

Allen shook his head. "There's Letty…then there's this other guy. He's sort of just there all of a sudden. Sorta freaks you out. Pisses me off to no end, honestly." Joshua said, turning back around to his desk.

Allen walked back out and headed towards Rick and Letty's room.

He opened the door and saw someone standing in the middle of the room, looking around like it was alerted.

Allen shrugged and was about to walk out the door when a hand was laid on Allen's shoulder.

Allen turned his head and saw the person who was standing in the middle of the room.

"Hello there." They said, holding out their other hand to shake.

Allen raised an eyebrow and looked up and down at the person.

"…aren't you Letty?" Allen asked.

They shook their head and chuckled. "Oh no. I'm Rick. This is the first time we've meet so I wanted to properly greet you."

Allen turned and shook his hand.

"I do know that Letty and I look alike, but we're very different. You're Allen, right?"

Allen nodded.

"Letty told me about you. When she goes to bed, I watch the room for her….well, maybe it's not quite that…oh well. It was nice to meet you.

Allen nodded and walked back out the door and back to Joshua's room.

Joshua was up and pacing again.

When Allen entered, he struck up a conversation.

"Hey, you know, at night, there are these voices that drift down from the second floor. They're all like 'help'."

Allen widened his eyes. "Why don't you go check them out?"

Joshua backed away. "No way! If you're so curious, why don't you go yourself?" He said. "Oh! But don't tell Teacher! He'd get mad at me…"

Suddenly the overhead light went out and the only light in the room was Joshua's lamp on his desk.

"Well, that's the signal for lights out! Goodnight, Allen." Joshua said, escorting him out of his bedroom door and closing it.

Allen stood outside the door and heard the door become locked, along with the rest of the doors except his own.

He sighed and opened the door to his room.

It was pitch black.

Allen puffed out his chest and closed the door. He turned and headed for the lobby.

When he arrived there, the only light was the dim light of the moon shining through the windows.

Allen turned and took the first step up the stairs and then the rest of them until he reached the top in a hurry, like something was going to get him.

He heard someone speaking, but couldn't make out what they were saying yet.

He walked into the room next to a double-door room and could finally understand what was being spoken.

_"Help me…."_

Allen's hair stood on end and he turned to leave and just forget about what he had heard, but he was too curious about the voice and he turned back around and walked forward.

He continued until he reached the back of the room, where there was a picture frame with butterfly specimens in.

One of the butterflies was opening and closing his wings.

_"Help me…"_ It said.

Allen furrowed his brow and decided to help the poor butterfly.

He put his hand on one of the corners of the picture frame they were encased in and pulled. But the frame must've been bolted to the wall because his struggle was in vain.

Allen let go of the frame only for it to come crashing down by his feet.

Teacher flung himself through the door and shouted, "Who's there?!" When he spotted Allen, he let his tension melt as he went over to examine what happened.

"Allen? What in Heaven's name are you doing on the second floor after lights out?" Teacher began to scold.

Tears welled in Allen's eyes. "B-but the butterfly told me to help it so I tried. But then the picture frame suddenly came off and crashed down. I'm so sorry!"

Teacher's eyes filled with wonder. "The butterfly asked for your help?...I see…" He said, forgetting all about his scolding.

"Well…while the butterfly may look alive, it has long since passed away…something without a soul cannot speak, correct?" Teacher asked, bending down to examine the fractured glass from the frame.

"What a mess. Are you hurt at all?" Teacher asked Allen. When Allen shook his head, Teacher sighed.

"That's good. These glass shards are dangerous, so I'll clean them up. Now please, head to your room and go to sleep."

Suddenly, Teacher held his head and he groaned for a second.

Allen dropped down next to him. "Are you alright, Teacher?"

"I-I'm fine…just a little headache."

Allen hung his head. "I'm sorry…"

Teacher looked over and pat Allen's back. "No need to apologize, really. Just, please don't do it again. There there…it's alright…"

Teacher stood up and pushed Allen towards the door. "Goodnight, Allen…"

Allen nodded and headed back to his room. When he opened the door, he paused in the door way.

Suddenly, Allen heard the loud meow of a cat. His eyes traveled around his room before finally setting on a black cat staring at him from in front of his closet, which was open.

When Allen's eyes met the cat's, the cat jumped into his closet and disappeared inside, the doors to Allen's closet closing behind it.

Allen stood, wide eyed and terrified in the doorway before mustering up enough courage to walk to his closet.

He opened it and stepped inside.

Allen's head began to throb as a loud noise boomed through his head. He closed his eyes and prayed for the pain to stop. He suddenly felt better and Allen felt a cold, hard ground underneath his shoulder.

Allen opened his eyes and found himself lying on the same type of hardwood floor like at the place he began to live at with Teacher and the rest of the children.

He stood up cautiously and looked around.

The walls were pitch black and almost seemed like they weren't there. The hardwood floor seemed to glow, even though the ceiling was also pitch black without lights.

The hallway almost seemed like it was floating out in the middle of space.

Allen walked a couple of steps forward.

Nothing happened, so he continued down the long hallway until he spotted a closet that looked like his own.

As he got closer, a figure appeared beside it suddenly.

"Yipe!" The figure said as it turned around to see Allen, the cat ears on his head perking up in surprise.

Allen fell backwards from the surprise and stared at the figure.

The figure was a person with a cloak draped over his head and shoulders. Cat ears on his hood moved like real ones, the hood they perched upon shielding his face from the light so all you could see was one cat-like eye and a mouth with sharp teeth.

The cat-person frowned. "Jesus! What the hey?!" He shouted at Allen before his eye widened and he smiled mischievously. "Now, if it isn't a strange little human I've never seen before!" He smiled wider.

Allen frowned and stood up quickly, "Is this a dream?!" He asked.

The cat person leaned forward. "What was that?" He asked. The cat stood back up straight without giving Allen a chance to repeat what he had said.

"Why, yes! If you say you're dreaming, Alice, then sure, this is a dream!" He smiled. "Because here; what Alice says and does is everything!"

"My name's not Alice!" Allen shouted at the cat, becoming very frightened.

The cat took no notice. "That's not your name? Oh, no no, Alice is Alice! And that's because I said so!" He said.

Allen frowned. "But that contradicts to what you said before!"

The cat paused. "Is that so? Maybe you're onto something, kid. This place is chock full of wierdos , so I'm just one of them!" He said laughing loudly.

Allen covered his ears. "Please make this dream stop!" He screamed.

The cat's ears flicked. "Oh, don't say that! You don't stop in the middle of a good meal do ya? Well, it's the same with dreams! You gotta savor the taste!"

The cat's ears perked back up. "Opps! Well, I'm busier than I look. Alright, I'll smell ya!" He said as he suddenly disappeared.

Allen stood back up and cautiously walked forward, afraid that the cat might appear to scare him again.

When he didn't, Allen went over and pulled at the handles to the closet. It wouldn't open, so he moved on and saw another door behind the closet; which was open.

He stepped through and had to walk over a bridge to get to the other side. The bridge looked rickety, but it held Allen's weight as he walked across.

When he reached the other side, he came face-to-face with another boy.

He had black hair that reached a little past his shoulders and white rabbit ears, one looked as if it had been torn or bitten in half.

The boy sighed before noticing Allen. "Oh? Another visitor? That makes six." He said, holding out his hand to Allen.

Suddenly, the rabbit-boy became confused by his own words. "Hm?...that doesn't seem to add up…"

"Oh never mind…good evening, Alice, and welcome." He greeted as they shook hands. "I'm the White Rabbit, the guide of the Worlds. It's a pretty big place, so call me if you need anything!" He smiled.

His smiled fell a little as he continued. "Unfortunately…I cannot move from the spot I am standing in. It's a pain, it really is…not to mention the pressing matter of the keys to the World doors going missing…"

He looked down. "Four of the five are simply gone. But, I think I can hazard a guess as to who took them…and as I previously stated, I cannot move an inch…"

He looked up sharply at Allen. "So, Alice…I'd like to ask for your help in finding the World Keys...how does that sound?"

Allen stared at the White Rabbit and thought. _Hmm…well, this __**is**__just a dream…and I've nothing better to do…maybe this'll be my chance to explore everything, too_

Just as Allen finished his thought, he nodded and the White Rabbit bowed to him. "You have my thanks, then…luckily, I already have one of the World keys on hand, so you can already go in. Knowing who we're dealing with, I'm sure he's scattered them all across the Worlds…once you find one, bring it to me, please. And don't be shy about asking any other questions you may have."

Allen smiled.

"But, only once will you get an answer…I do not care to repeat myself again and again."

_Well, geez…this guy sure is a pain…_ Allen thought.

The White Rabbit frowned. "That was 'this guy is a pain' look wasn't it?"

Allen looked at him, surprised.

"Oh well, I hope to have your assistance." He bowed again before Allen walked away.

Allen walked towards a door that was stationed a little ways behind The White Rabbit and opened it, seeing nothing but darkness ahead.

He turned his head back to the White Rabbit, a worried frown upon Allen's face. When the Rabbit didn't look at him again, Allen gulped and headed into the black abyss, the door closing all on it's own.

Allen reached out slowly, hoping to feel something like a wall, but didn't feel anything. Allen gulped again and walked forward a few steps.

Suddenly, light flooded the room he had entered and the Cat stood at the end of yet another bridge Allen was standing upon.

Allen gasped, but before he could speak or do anything, the Cat spoke.

"Yo!" He said cheerfully. "You doin' well for yourself? I'm feelin' fiiiiiine." He sang.

Allen stepped forward with one foot. "Are you the one did this?...The one who took the World Keys?" Allen challenged.

The Cat smiled. "Keys? Not me, no sir. That's the truth and nothin' but!"

Allen frowned, taking it hard to believe him.

"…SURE, I did steal 'em. But that's only 'cause somebody else asked me to!" He shrugged.

"Who asked you to?!" Allen practically screamed.

"Can't tell you, nope. I may be a liar, but I won't lie to you friend." The Cat said. "And there isn't any other way to unlock 'em doors, either." He smiled, sticking out his tongue in a playful fashion. "Hmm…maybe if you told me your mom's maiden name, or the name of your pet….opps! Don't remember, do you?" He laughed.

Allen stared at him as he went on.

"'Sides, I'm just a guide. All I give are hints." The Cat stopped laughing and suddenly appeared by Allen's side. "Hint: It's a trial! One World's Key leads to the next, one by one." He whispered in his ear. He appeared where he had been standing before.

Allen frowned at the cat. "You're such a pain." He muttered loud enough for the Cat's ears to swivel in his direction.

The Cat laughed when he heard this. "I'm no more a pain than that guy!"

"Allen stopped frowning. "What guy?"

"The White Rabbit of course." The cat's ears and the fur on his clothes stood on end. "Just sayin' his name ruffles my fur!" He stared at Allen. "You know, he messed me up bad under this hood of mine…wanna take a look?" He asked, his head suddenly only a few inches away from Allen's face.

Allen shook his head and the Cat laughed uproariously.

"It's a tad grotesque for li'l'un like you anyway! Alright, time's up! See you later." The cat smiled as he suddenly disappeared.

Allen stared at the blood spot on the ground were the Cat had appeared and walked slowly off, still staring over his shoulder.

He walked to the nearest door to him, a door with a familiar looking sign on it.

It read: Letty & Rick.

Allen took in a sharp breath. _What's that doing here?!_

He stepped in and saw the familiar room of Rick and Letty: Hardwood floors, two beds. Letty stood in the middle of the room, looking around in wonder, like it was her first time in that room.

She spotted Allen and waved. "Hey! Morning, Alice!" She said gleefully. "Hey hey hey! I'm really bored right now, so let's play! Let's play! Play play play!" She sang out.

Allen leaned back, surprised by her sudden enthusiasm, but nodded his head in agreement anyway.

Letty laughed. "Alright! What should we do?" She looked around for something. "Oo! Wanna open the closet?"

Allen shrugged and walked over carefully to the closet doors. He opened one just a crack and peeked inside to find nothing but darkness.

Suddenly, though, that darkness sucked in the whole room, Allen and Letty included. "Whee!" Letty screamed as she was dragged in, the closet doors closing behind them.


	2. Chapter 2: Rick & Letty

Allen screamed and clenched his eyes shut until he knew he was safe. When he didn't feel the falling sensation any longer, he opened his eyelid ever so slightly and found himself lying in a bed in what looked like a bedroom in a cottage.

Allen was tucked in nicely, like a mother had come in to tuck him in and say goodnight.

Allen eyelids drooped, but he was suddenly startled by the sound of the only door in the room being locked. He threw off the covers and got up quickly. He ran to the door and jiggled the handle, finding that his suspicion was true.

He sighed and looked around the room. He noticed there were two knives of different sizes laid on the bedside table and an empty cup sitting on the round table in the center.

_Wonder what those are doing there?_

Allen also spotted a potted plant in the corner. He went over to examine and spotted something on the underside of one of the leaves, but the leaves were too stiff to do anything.

Allen let it go, but then formed an idea. He bounded over and grabbed the smallest knife, went back over, cut the leaf off and turned it over.

"A…torn notebook page?" He said aloud as he began to read.

**_My house is deep in the forest. There are a lot of animals, and the air is really nice. It's a wonderful place. My family is mother, father, and one more. He's always with me. Always there for me…from good morning to good night…but it's too bad that he can't play tag with me or anything…_**

The page ended.

Allen read it over again. He grunted and put it in his pants pocket, thinking it might be important later on. He was suddenly struck with the sound of the bedroom door being unlocked. He rushed over and turned the handle with ease, the door opening.

He walked into the big room that led off from the bedroom. Suddenly, he heard a deep voice from his right.

"Dresser, dresser. I am a dresser. Content, none. Medal, none." It said.

Allen turned his head and saw a tall dresser with big eyes and a mouth._ It can speak?!_

Allen walked over and it repeated what it had stated before. "Content, none. Medal, none."

Allen raised an eyebrow and walked away, spotting a piece of paper lying on the table near to him. It read: To my family, do you know where my gold medal is? I had it in my pocket before I went to bed…if you find it, please put it in the top dresser drawer on the left side. Signed: Dad.

Allen spotted two beds in the corner of the room. _Hmm…might as well find it for him…_

He crawled on the beds and searched through the covers and under the pillows. He reached down behind the beds and felt something cold at on the floor. He picked it up and lifted it out of the crack between the bed and wall. In Allen's hand was the gold medal he had been searching for.

Allen smiled and jumped off the beds, heading towards the dresser and opened it. He placed in the topmost, left drawer.

The dresser smiled and laughed. "Medal! Back where it belong! Thank! Give this." It said, opening its third drawer for Allen, a scrap of paper lying in the empty drawer.

Allen bowed and grabbed the notebook page.

**_My mother isn't my real mother. I heard my real mother passed away from illness. The mother I have now often teases her…so I take the brunt of it all for all the hurtful things said to her…but when she's beaten, I can't protect her…_**

**** Allen cringed slightly, not liking where this was story was going, but he put the scrap in his pocket with the other and looked around the living area he was in.

The sound of the front door being unlocked reached Allen's ears and he sighed and stepped towards the door, opening it and walking through, seeing a huge forest in front of him along with a path leading into it.

Allen walked along the trail until he came to a clearing in the woods, the sun shining through the gap in the treetops. Allen gasped when he spotted Letty sitting motionless up against a sign planted in the middle of the clearing.

He ran over, squatted down, and poked her in the shoulder. Letty groaned slightly before speaking. "Nngh…I'm thirsty…" She croaked.

Allen stood back up and began to walk back, until something from the underbrush caught the sunlight, which hit Allen in the eyes.

He covered them before peeking out through his fingers and bending down to pick up whatever had reflected the light. He picked it up and stared at it for a few moments.

The object he had picked up was only a transparent shard of something. An "X" was carved into it.

Allen shrugged and put it in his other pocket as he made his way back to the cottage, knowing that if people had lived there, there would be a water supply somewhere.

Allen spotted a well next to the house with a bucket for drawing water.

He rushed over and drew some water quickly and set the bucket on the ground. He frowned. _It might be hard to drink like this…_

Suddenly, a light bulb went over his head as he ran into the house, grabbed the cup from the round table, and ran back out, filling the cup with water. Before Allen could make his way back to Letty, he noticed something by the well. _Another notebook page…_

He slowly began to read.

**_One day, mother said, we'd go for a walk. I didn't want to, but se dragged me by the hand into the forest. Like usual, after walking a long way, mother said we'd take a break. 'You stay here', she had told me, and I sat there the whole time. It got dark. I was scared. It was pitch black. I was so, so scared…so I closed my eyes and talked to him. 'What's your name? What's your favorite food? What don't you like?' I was surprised. He wasn't like me at all._**

****Allen stood back up and walked back to where Letty was dozing off. She opened her eyes and looked at Allen, locking her gaze with the water in the cup.

She reached for it and gulped it down. When she finished, she wiped her mouth with her sleeve and threw the cup aside. "Thanks!" She declared. "I was really parched. I woke up here, but there's no one around. I was too scared to move." She said.

Letty looked up at Allen. "Allen, do you know where this is and why we're here?"

Allen looked up at the sky. "I thought this was a dream…" He responded.

Letty looked down. "A dream? Really? Is that right…" Letty muttered as she stood up. "I was confused, really…I mean, its looks like exactly where I used to live." Letty suddenly looked around the clearing.

"Um…Rick isn't here with you, is he? He's usually always there holding my hand in my dreams…It's really scary on my own…Rick…" She asked.

"But…you're not alone…" Allen said.

"Allen….that's right…I'm not alone. Plus, this is a dream. I can just wake up and things'll be back to normal." She smiled. "Alright! Let's play! It's my first time playing with somebody else in my dreams."

Letty stepped sideways from in front of the sign. "This sign is too hard for me to read, but you can read it, right Allen?" She asked. "It seems like some kind of riddle. Looks neat!"

She hid behind Allen quickly when the sign suddenly spoke. "Hey. Hey. Read? Read the sign."

Allen leaned back, before leaning in close to read:

**The two paths look very much alike, but their ends are very different. Where are they different? Answer in numbers:**

** 1 2 3  
4 5 6**

The sign spoke back up. "Read it? You read it? Tell me. Tell me if you know. Don't mess up, either. You get three chances."

Letty gasped in amazement. "Whoa! You read it all? You're amazing. I hate studying, so I usually sneak away at study time. Which makes Teacher mad…oh, but I can read clocks! Aren't I great?" She said cheerfully, bouncing up and down on her feet.

Allen rolled his eyes mentally as he went down one of the paths, Letty trailing behind him.

Allen stopped at the entrance to another clearing. The clearing's grass had grown in a very weird way, making the forest floor look as if it were part of a chess board. Two signs were up in the middle of the square closest to them, but they held no words, and a stack of boxes stood in the square behind the signs. A clothes line with clothes on it was placed in the square left of the boxes and right of the boxes was some sort of garden. In front of the garden was papers scattered in a certain way, and on the other side of the signs was a bucket of nothing plus a few mushrooms.

_Very strange, indeed…_ Allen wondered.

Letty perked up. "Oh! I think we have to spot the differences of the two endings of the trails! It might help to look sideways when doing this."

Allen kept to himself and led Letty to the next clearing, which was very similar to the other. Checkered floor, boxes, clothes line, mushrooms, bucket, garden.

The first thing he noticed was the clothes line in the far left corner. In one clearing, it had clothes on it while in this one it had a blanket hanging from it.

_There's one…_ Allen said mentally. He began to walk around inspecting everything in sight while Letty just bounced up and down excitedly behind him.

He walked towards the garden, seeing how the lettuce was planted in a similar fashion to the other garden. He noticed a small mushroom among the lettuce and froze.

_Wait a second…_ He thought as he sped to the other clearing to the garden. There also was a mushroom among the lettuces, but this one had a different shape and color.

_Gotcha. That's two…_

Allen walked calmly towards the papers lying on the ground next to the garden. He could ead the words on it.

"Oh! Finally I can read what is on those papers! In the other clearing, I couldn't read them without turning them around towards me, but now I can read them just fine." She grinned wide.

_That's it! The third one is the papers! I haven't spotted any other differences, so those might be the answer…but, the only thing is…what was with the numbers?  
1 2 3  
4 5 6  
Hmm…maybe they're like that because of the checkered forest floor? _Allen thought as he looked around.

_Yes…that would make sense…then the answer would be…136..._ He thought, gesturing to Letty that he had the answer.

They made their way back to the sign. The sign spoke up before they had a chance to. "Read it? You read it? Tell me. Tell me. All in numbers."

"…136?" Allen said, very uncertain about his answer.

The sign paused. "Correct! Take this…" It said before another notebook scrap suddenly appeared on the ground before Allen. He picked it up and read it.

**_ Is this the deep forest? I should go back. I'm fine, but she doesn't like living here. She'll say it grosses her out again…why does that witch have to tease her so?...I have to do away with that evil witch…_**

Allen put the piece of paper away in his pocket and began to head back to the cottage with Letty, seeing no other path other than the one he came down from and the other clearings.

As the cottage began to come into view, Allen froze as he noticed big sticks of chocolate pocky sticking out of the ground like trees and big chocolate kisses that reminded him of bushes.

Letty also stopped, but she didn't seem to notice the candy. "Rick's not here…he always talks to me when I'm lonely. And he teaches me all this stuff that I've never experienced myself! But…he always seems a little sad…except when he's talking, then he's having fun. I wonder why…" She trailed off before speaking again. "Do you have someone important to you?" She asked suddenly.

Allen looked up and muttered, "I don't know…"

Letty looked down and looked as if she was about to cry. "Oh, right…your memories…sorry for asking you such a sad question…"

Suddenly, Allen heard a faint giggle that sounded very familiar, and the head of the Cat appeared before them, smiling wide.

"Looking for something?" He purred.

Letty jumped and hid behind Allen, but not before the Cat had already seen her.

"Haven't seen you before. Hello Alice."

Letty raised an eyebrow. "What? My name's not Alice. It's Letty."

The Cat paused, his tail beginning to swish from side to side. "Nah. Your name's Alice 'cause I said so! But, I'll just let it sliiiiiide. This what you were looking for?" He smiled again as a boy appeared next to him, his face dark and his eyes wide with what looked like fear.

"Rick!" She exclaimed.

"He looked pretty tasty, so I thought I'd just eat 'im." The Cat said, circling around Rick with his tail swishing. "I mean, really, guy's pretty broken. Plus…" The Cat turned to look at Letty. "I got a second one. Whatcha ma call that…one rock two birds?" He said, giggling. He suddenly became taller. "Well, I've done what I did. Let's meet again in a Dream!" He said as he vanished into thin air.

"Ah! He vanished!" Letty exclaimed before turning her attention to Rick. "Rick?...you're okay, right? I'll hold your hand…." She said, taking hold of his hand and beginning to lead him along the trail, following Allen.

Allen stopped short a few feet away from where they had been standing looking up at the cottage he had come from earlier, seeing now that it looked as if it was made of some kind of cookie. Allen happened to glance sideways and catch a glimpse of another shard of XXXX.

He told Letty to stay put and rushed over to pick it up, heading into the house after he did. As he opened the door, he almost ran into more pocky sticking out of the floors. He carefully stepped around them and headed into the room where he had woken up. He noticed a key sitting on the middle round table where he had retrieved the cup for Letty. He picked it up and put it in his pockets.

Letty spoke up. "You know…this house looks just like mine, but all made of sweets…that's so dreamy! Also, I wonder if it's okay to take a bite?"

"T…Teacher was there…" Rick said faintly. Allen and Letty both turned to look at him as he continued.

"Key, don't move, Sweet. Sweet, so sweet. Ow, ow, ow…I'm hungry…" He trailed off.

Allen turned and walked back through the door, seeing someone standing next to the fireplace.

Allen put his arm over Letty, but she brushed him away an stepped forward.

The figure turned and saw the two. "Why did you come back?" A female voice asked, coming from the dark figure. You're always going down deep roads you don't know. At this point, I can't care for you, you'll just get hurt more…so why even come back?" It questioned Letty.

"…Rick…I don't like this…" She stepped back.

The figure cocked his head. "That name again…Rick, Rick…there's no one here but me, my husband, and you…disgusting."

Letty frowned. "He exists! He definitely exists! Why – how can you… I'm sorry…I-I'm sorry…" Suddenly, Letty's eyes became wide like Rick's and her face became dark.

"Evil Witch…" Letty spoke. "Why is it this same thing with you…I'll protect you, Letty!" She said.

"You…" The figure said before stepping towards Letty, the two looking as if they were going to fight.

Allen could do the one thing he thought would help the situation: He tackled the figure, and pushed it back into the fireplace, the figure disappearing almost instantly.

"Mother…Mother!" Letty screamed as she, too, plunged into the fire.

Allen tried to grab Letty before she touched the flames, but he was too late and she disappeared.

Allen sighed and looked down, seeing a notebook scrap on the floor.

**_I'm so hungry. If only my clothes and my house could be tasty sweets. Then everyone in my family could have a good meal. Oh…but I guess chocolate melts really quickly. That won't work…I burned it all. When I took everything onto myself, she could smile all the while. I like her, I really do. But…why was I born? Teacher prepared two beds for me and clothes for me, too. But is this right? Is it wrong for me to exist? Teacher, is –er - th- -ly r- I e-? _**

Suddenly, Allen fell to the floor, his vision completely dark.

He opened his eyes to find himself standing in the room where all the World doors were. Allen turned and headed back to the White Rabbit and handed him the key.

"Ah. You made it back…were you crying?" The Rabbit dismissed it. "Ah, one World to the next, is it…what a bother. Well, fair enough. You've recovered one of the keys." The Rabbit held out his hand. "I'll collect everything that you picked up in the World, as well." He smiled. "They'll soon vanish at any rate…the Alice seems to be hanging on by a thread now."

Allen took out the notebook pages that he had collected and thrust them towards the White Rabbit.

He swiped them from Allen's hand. "And the torn pages…I'll put them back together. Here you are." He said, handing Allen back a Burgundy Notebook.

"Now then…I'll open the door to the next World. I'm counting on you once more, Alice." The White Rabbit said as Allen heard an unlocking sound somewhere in the room he had just come from.

"Run along now…" The Rabbit said.

Allen turned and obeyed, finding the Cat standing in front of the statue he had woken up in front of after he passed out in Letty's World.

The Cat began to speak as Allen approached. "You know, the rules of these Worlds were all set up by someone. I don't get it myself. But he must have had a lot of time on his hands!" The Cat smiled and chuckled. "Makin' all these dumb rules! Bah! But, we have to follow them…'cause if we don't, we'll be punished."

Allen looked at the Cat with wide eyes.

"What? Can't a guy talk about what he likes?" The Cat said, taking off his own head and tossing it into the air like it was a ball.

"You're…not normal…" Allen said, watching him as he did this.

The Cat put his head back on and frowned. "What you consider 'normal' is going to vary from person to person." He looked up and down at Allen. "Boy, you look like a wreck. No need to get so worked up about someone you just met. Not at all tired are ya?"

Allen shook his head, but it was fairly obvious that he was lying.

"Is there even anything in there? Anything at all?" The Cat asked, knocking on Allen's forehead.

Allen brushed his hand/paw away. "Not…sure…"

The Cat leaned away. "That so? Well, I'll ask you again later…" He began to disappear. "Prayin' you despair real. We'll talk later." He finished as the top of ears flickered out.

Allen shook his head to clear it from sleepiness, partially doing the trick.

He checked the doors on the right. Both were locked. He checked the door in the middle. That one was locked, too. All of those door had no signs on them, either, so he couldn't tell who was on the inside.

He finally came to a door that did have a sign: Chelsy.

He opened it and found that a path had been cleared in the teddy bears from the doorway to the middle of the room.

Chelsy saw Allen peek his head in and she smiled. She waited patiently for Allen to approach her before speaking.

"Ah…H-Hi Alice…" Chelsy said shyly.

Allen smiled. "You want to play?" He asked her cheerfully.

She smiled and nodded. "Okay…can you open the closet?"

Allen's smile faltered just a little as he remembered Rick and Letty's story, but he cleared his mind and grasped the handles of the closet and opened it.

The room went completely black.


	3. Chapter 3: Chelsy

Allen heard Chelsy scream before going completely silent.

Allen opened his eyes and saw that he was lying in a bed in a room with a bunch of teddy bears scattered across the room. He sat up, swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up.

A nightstand stood next to the bed, and next to the stand was a bookcase with one book jutting out. "_Mother Goose"_.

Allen trotted over and slid it the rest of the way out. A bookmark was resting in the book. Allen turned to the page and read.

**What are little boys made of? What are little boys made of? Frogs and snails and puppy dogs' tails. That's what little boys are made of. What are little girls made out of? What are little girls made out of? Sugar, spice, and all that is nice. That's what little girls are made of.**

Allen closed the book and walked out and into the next room that he spotted. As he entered, he saw Chelsy standing at a desk in the corner of the room.

"…Chelsy…" He said, trying not to startle her.

Chelsy stood up instantly, surprised by Allen. "Allen, whew, you scared me!" She trailed off. "D-do you…happen to know where we are?" She asked.

"I'd assume it's a Dream." Allen said softly, trying to reassure her of any doubts.

Chelsy smiled and remained silent. "…sorry. I'm not very good at talking…I don't hate it, really…It was scary being alone, but now I feel better…will you…stay with me?" She asked, her cheeks the slightest shade of pink.

Allen nodded and she smiled again. "Okay!" She reached into her pockets and brought out a piece of paper.

"Do you want this? It's just a blank sheet of paper, but…okay…here." She said, handing it to Allen.

He smiled. _A notebook scrap…I hope this story is just a little bit better than Rick and Letty's…_ He thought as he began to read.

**_My mother has a very weak body. So I do the cooking, washing, and other chores instead of her. My father isn't home much. Sometimes he brings home a wolf or a deer. I want to go to school, but I love my mother and I always stay home with her. Mother always lies in bed saying 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry…' and her voice sounds like it's going to fade away…_**

****Allen put the piece of paper slowly in his pocket and led Chelsy to the front door, only to find it locked.

"It won't open? That's strange…what should we do?" Chelsy asked quietly.

Allen was about to answer before a strange groan came from the room Allen woke up in. He tiptoed slowly to the door and peeked in, spotting a small rabbit lying on his side on the nightstand.

Allen walked into the room and stood next to the rabbit.

"Good day." The rabbit said in a pained voice. "I'm quite hungry right now…" It finished its sentence with a groan.

Chelsy, who was behind Allen, pushed him gently to the side and confronted the rabbit. "If you need medicine, it's in the room over…" She stood at her full height. "But, it needs to be mixed first, what was it…the first color goes, the second color yields, the third color stops…that's what grandma said. And it refers to…something…"

Chelsy looked at Allen. "She also said that if it's mixed the wrong way, it'll explode! I-I should stay away…" She trailed off and hid behind Allen again.

Allen exited the room where the rabbit was and entered the room where the medicine had been.

"Here it is. You have to mix the medicines in the order I had said before…are you really gonna do it? It'll explode if you mess up…"

Allen nodded without looking at her.

"A-alright…" She said.

Allen concentrated. _The color that goes…green…the color that yields….yellow…and the color that stops…red…_

Chelsy braced herself with her arms.

Nothing happened.

She released her tension from her arms and body and stared at the completed medicine. "I-it didn't explode….this medicine should work, then…come on…" Chelsy grabbed the medicine in one hand and grabbed Allen's hand in the other and led the way back to the other room, which gave Allen time to think in peace.

_Wait a minute…how did I know what the colors were?_ He asked himself. Before he had time to question it further, they had arrived.

Chelsy showed the medicine to the rabbit. "We um…brought medicine…" She said.

The rabbit's eye glittered as he drank it, almost instantly feeling better. "Thanks! I don't need this, so you can have it." He said as he dropped a notebook scrap in Chelsy's hands and ran off out the adjacent window.

Chelsy handed Allen the scrap.

**_My grandma lives in the woods. She had a job of making medicine. When my mother ran out, I would go to grandma's house. One day, mother told me to go over, like always. Today, she wanted to give her a present, too, since she was in debt to her. 'It's full of bread and wine, but you're not to eat it along the way. And like I always tell you, don't stray from the path…because there's a scary wolf'. I said I'd do what she said, and left the house. As I walked through the forest, I found a pretty flower garden._**

****Allen placed it in his pocket and heard the sound of someone unlocking a door. He led Chelsy back to the front door and found it unlocked.

"Oh…it's unlocked now…" Chelsy said quietly as she and Allen headed out into the dreary day outside.

Allen spotted a flower patch not far from where they stood, and a tidy garden beside the door they just came out of. Something glittered in the corner of his eye and turned to see another shard of XXXX peeking around the scarecrow's post. He picked it up as Chelsy started to speak.

"Well…we're outside…what now? Oh. Umm…" She trailed off, leaving Allen to look at her, gesturing for her to continue. "Well…before you came, Allen, I saw Teacher. H-He said not to go anywhere…but I broke my promise…should we…look for him maybe?" Chelsy shook her head, as if trying to clear her thoughts. "Well, let's go to my Grandma's house."

Allen nodded and began to walk a few feet into the flower patch that stood in front of the pair.

Chelsy stopped short. "Oh…wait. Can we…pick a few flowers first?"

When Allen nodded, Chelsy smiled and rushed over. She began to delicately pick some flowers.

Allen bent down and picked one for her and added it the growing bundle that she was already holding.

She stood up a few moments later. "Thanks…I just love the flowers here. To tell the truth, I'm told not to pick them…but, this is just a Dream, so...let's go to Grandma's. It's straight ahead from here." Chelsy said, smelling the flowers she held in her arms.

Allen walked along through the trees until he and Chelsy came to lake. Chelsy got in front of Allen and looked into the water. "…there's s-supposed to be a bridge here…" She looked at Allen. "What now? W-we can't get to Grandma's…ohhh my head's spinning…" She said.

"In a jam?" A voice asked behind them.

Both of them jumped and spun around to see the Cat standing behind them with his normal huge grin. "Why hello Alice and…Alice!"

Chelsy stood, staring at the Cat intently. The Cat stared back until he smiled wider (which Allen didn't even know was possible) and said, "Don't stare to hard…It's deadly y'know?"

Chelsy jumped and hid behind Allen as the Cat chuckled. "Juuust kiddin'. Don't freak. So you wanna cross the river? I'll take you over."

Allen frowned, unable to believe him.

"Not even kiddin'. But, of course, it ain't gonna be free." He stood back, three things appearing next to him all in a line. "Just a little game, love em' don'tcha?" The Cat laughed. "As you can see here, I have a wolf, a sheep, and a cabbage. You wanna row your boat, use your imagination, to get em all to the other side…'cept there are a couple conditions."

Allen scowled.

"One! You can only carry one thing on the boat at a time. Two! If you leave the sheep alone with the cabbage, sheep'll eat it. Three! Leave the wolf with the sheep, and the wolf'll chow down. Those're the rules. Now, what's the minimum times you gotta row across? Get it right and I'll take you to the other shore. Yep, but just like the rules of the Alice Worlds, you only get three guesses. If you mess up all three times, it's a dead end there, friend." He said smiling. "Talk to me when you think you have an answer."

Allen looked at Chelsy for a moment before speaking. "7."

The Cat looked up from his pawing at the ground. "You talkin' to me? Yep, correct you are. Alrighty then. As I promised, I'll take you to the other shore. Now, close your eyes."

Allen and Chelsy both did as they were told, Chelsy gripping Allen's hand tightly.

"Now…open them." He said.

Allen's eyes darted open to see that he had reached the other shore. He looked behind him at the water, which had now grown dark just like the sky and their surroundings. Allen looked over a Chelsy, who still had her eyes closed and her hand still firmly wrapped around Allen's hand.

He moved his other hand and was about to pat her on her shoulder before he noticed another notebook scrap in his free hand.

**_'Don't stray away from the path', I warned myself. But I was sure that Grandma would be glad if I brought her some flowers too…so I picked a few. Then a man came by and asked me if I knew a medicine-maker. He must have meant Grandma. I told him I was going there too, so he should come with me. The man smiled and helped me pick flowers. Then we held hands and walked to Grandma's. I don't hold hands with father very much, so it was a sort of new sensation for me._**

****The scraps words stopped and Allen shoved it in his pocket, which was enough to snap Chelsy out of her frozen trance. She looked over at Allen. "What's wrong?"

Allen shook his head.

"Well, Grandma's is right over there. Let's go…." Chelsy said, suddenly stopping. "I wonder if mother is okay…Grandma says she'll get better, but….someday, she won't wake up. She won't talk with me ever again. When I think about it…it makes me cry a lot….Father's all red. It's scary." She paused. "Allen…i-is there someone you want to protect?"

"I'm…not sure…" He said faintly.

"Oh, that's right. You lost your memories. I'm sorry." Chelsy shivered suddenly. "It's getting chilly. Let's go."

Allen agreed and took her hand again, leading her past the huge garden in front of the house. Some strange vine-looking plants were growing there and all over the yard.

"Hmm….wonder what those are?" Chelsy said. "But what I do know is that some of the stuff she uses in her medicines is grown right here." She finished as they approached the door.

She sniffled out of random and pushed the door. Nothing happened. She pushed it again. Still the door didn't budge. "It's locked…? After we came all this way…what now, Allen?"

Allen shrugged and looked over his shoulder at the dark yard and forest. He spotted an owl and went over to it, Chelsy following him curiously.

The owl noticed them as she was preening her feathers. "Oh? And what do you want?" She asked, lifting up her head.

Allen blinked. "Well, the door to her grandmother's is locked. Would you be able to help us?" He asked.

She furrowed her brow. "It's locked, is it? That is certainly very weird, considering that that house has no lock!" She chuckled loudly. "Hah…well, there is still _one_ way." She said carefully.

Chelsy's eyes brightened up when she heard the owl say that. "But you see, Her Squeakiness –me – is currently wanting a flower. Practically can't live without it! Bring me one, would you?" She asked politely.

"What kind of flower…is it?" Chelsy asked in a small voice.

The owl looked behind Allen and noticed Chelsy. "My my! What a tiny, weird voice you have!" The owl laughed loudly.

"Ohoho. I'll only say it once, so listen carefully:

**When she's red, she's passionate. When she's white, she gives pure XXXX. When she's blue, she's eternally devoted. But when she's yellow, she's deeply jealous. Ah, but one last thing. She's often mistaken for another. But unlike that other flower, she never hurts people!**

"So never make that mistake." She finished, looking at Allen and Chelsy with her big eyes. "Well, off you go! Bring me the wrong one and I'll have to eat you!" She stated.

Chelsy gasped. "W-Well…we _did_ pick some flowers earlier. There's a bunch, so I'll split them up." She said as she split up the flowers according to their breed.

"There are Tulips, Margarets, Roses, Pansies, and Carnations…." Chelsy squeaked, half talking to Allen half talking to herself.

"Oh! I know!" Chelsy said, picking up one of the flowers. She bent over and presented the flower to the owl. "It's a Carnation." She said smiling as the owl nodded.

"Well, well! Her Squeakiness can finally eat!" She said taking the flower delicately in her beak and immediately chewing and swallowing it. "Ohoho! Very tasty. Truly the best of the best!" The owl smiled. "Ah, yes, yes. Something to open the door with. Look behind this log I'm perched upon and you shall find what you're looking for!" She said, grinning.

Allen and Chelsy took a look behind the log. There, they found a axe lying in the grass. Allen picked it up and was surprised to find how light it was.

"Wait a minute! Take this, too." The owl said, bringing out a piece of paper that had been under her wing. _Another notebook scrap…_

_**We reached grandma's house. Grandma waved to welcome me. The man bowed slightly, too. "The medicine is in the usual place." I went to get mother's medicine from the back room. Just then, I heard a loud sound. There….there I saw it…I saw a wolf eat grandma. Then he stuffed a lot of medicine in his bag. Then he noticed me and began to walk towards me…**_

Allen hesitated when the scraps words ended. He solemnly put the piece of paper into his pocket and put his attention back onto the axe.

He easily carried it over to the door.

Chelsy hid behind him as he swung the axe and cut the door down. She sighed with relief as he placed the axe next to the doorframe. "It's a good thing you did that. I would never have been able to do it."

Allen stepped through the doorway and looked around. He jumped when he heard a rustling sound. He turned to see a person lying in a bed in the corner to his left. They seemed to be sleeping.

"Grandma!' Chelsy whispered.

Allen glanced to his right and noticed a bookcase with a book hanging ajar from the ranks of books.

He thought that to be suspicious and took it out and read what page was bookmarked.

_ Cry, baby, cry. Put your finger in your eye and tell mother it wasn't I._

Allen cringed. _That was a weird….thing…._ Allen thought, putting the book back into the place it had been before.

He grabbed Chelsy by the wrist and pulled her with him into the back room.

She became flustered as Allen pulled her along. As he entered the back room, he noticed a lot of different things: one was that there were things spilled all over the room and the strange plants from outside were also growing in there.

Allen noticed something shiny in the corner of his eye. When he looked, he saw another shard of XXXX. He picked it up and added it to the rest of his growing collection.

He suddenly noticed that another World key was lying right next to it, so he picked that up, too.

"Well…I guess we didn't find Teacher…and things are kind of weird here…and it smells, too. Hey, Allen? How do you wake up from this Dream?"

Allen turned his head. "I…don't know…"

"I see…" Chelsy said faintly.

Suddenly, there was a loud commotion from where they had just come from. A loud howl along with some loud thumps and crashes were heard.

"Was that from the other room? I don't wanna move from this spot!" Chelsy said, trembling.

"Don't worry." Allen said softly. "Take hold of my hand and hide behind me." He said.

Chelsy almost immediately took his hand and hid behind him. "O-ok…but don't let go….please don't leave me…" Chelsy said, on the brink of tears.

Allen nodded and slowly walked towards where the commotion had been heard. As he rounded the corner, the first thing he noticed was that there was a huge dark figure next to where Chelsy's grandmother had been.

Chelsy's eyes widened and she let go of Allen. The figure, which looked like a werewolf, turned and focused his golden eyes on Chelsy, slowly making his way towards Chelsy.

"N-No! You're not grandma! Wake up! Wake up please!" She screamed to herself. "Wait. This is just a Dream! No! I don't wanna see this again ! I won't do it again! Forgive me! Forgive me…."

Allen had to think fast as the figure closed in the space between it and Chelsy.

_The axe!_ Allen's mind screamed at him those two words and he instantly knew what to do. He grabbed the axe and threw it, hitting him square in the back of the head, cracking his skull and killing him instantly.

Chelsy was on her knees. "Father," she said. "Red..the colour red….I hate it….stop."

Allen shuffled towards her and sat down in front of her. "What's wrong? It's over." He said.

"I…close my eyes…so I can't see…hold…my hand.."She said, reaching out and grabbed Allen's hand, only to let go a moment later and fall backwards onto the floor.

She had left a notebook scrap in Allen's hands.

**_I can't…look people in the eye…I'm too scared to hold their hand…it makes me…remember it. If only I hadn't picked those flowers…and hadn't met him…and hadn't held…his hand. Lots of blood came out. It smelled…really bad. Teacher…I stilled scared, but…I sort of okay. Teacher, I…st- can'- -ve -th-. Those eyes…were -…help me…_**

Allen struggled to try and read the rest of the scrap, but the words were too blurred, and Allen's vision was starting to become laced with black. He then passed out.

He awoke on familiar ground, Chelsy nowhere to be seen. He rose up and walked back towards the door on the other side of the bridge.

"Welcome back." A familiar voice said. "…I say with a smile, but you seem quite uncomfortable with that face you're making."

Allen held out the World key he had retrieved.

"Ah, well, at least you seem to have safely recovered the key. A job well done." The Rabbit complimented, taking the key and wiping it off a little before making it disappear. "And, I shall collect what you found in that World…" He said smugly, holding out his hands as Allen frowned. "Oh! And let's not forget about the pages you collected. I shall put those together for you."

After a few minutes, he gave the completely put back together notebook back to Allen.

"Now, I'm counting on you once more, Allen. Go and retrieve the next World key." The Rabbit said.

Allen remained silent and turned back towards the door that led to the World Doors. He walked through, and much to his dissatisfaction, the Cat was standing near the center piece of the room.

He broke into a wide smile. "They say just say what you want, but when you say anything bad, you got a knife at your throat. Yeesh! So what am I supposed to say? Ah that's it! Say nothin' but the best…but won't I die of loneliness if I stop say'in anything? Alright, maybe I'll just woof like a dog or meow like a cat. Pesky knowledge just dirties the heart, does it not?" His eyes shifted as he looked over Allen.

His eyes looked back up at Allen's face, his smile still wide. "You look tried as hell again." The Cat straightened his back. "Don't have to do what you don't wanna. Trying's the first step towards exhaustion. Or heck…maybe's there's a reason to it?"

Allen shrugged and frowned.

"Oh really? You tyrin' to help the people in those Worlds? I know Rabbit told you to, but you're guaranteed a bad end the second you go into their Worlds. You still gonna keep goin'?"

Allen nodded, watching the Cat's every move. "Boy, you sure are a lot like him. Anyone ever teach you that?" Allen shook his head.

"Well, it's time. We'll talk later." He said as he disappeared.

Allen watched until he was completely transparent and then moved onto the next door: Joshua.

He opened it and found himself back in the place Allen recently began to call home.

Joshua noticed Allen and smiled. "Yo, Alice! Nice weather, huh? Y'know what this calls for? Y'know? Yeah! Let's play! C'mon!"

Allen nodded silently as he watched Joshua practically bounce off the walls with excitement. "Whooo! Sweet! Open up the closet and let the fun begin!" Joshua said staying still for the first time since Allen had entered his room.

He slowly walked over, opened the slightly creaking doors of Joshua's closet and all became black.


End file.
